Venus and Whitney Hammond have come to see a medium who claims to be able to summon the spirits of the dead, intending to expose him as a fraud. They are shocked when the medium summons two spirits who begin fighting each other right before their eyes, proving to both Venus and Whit that he is the genuine article. The medium invites them to stay and witness as he summons spirits for his next customer.

Soon they are visited by a man named Andreas, who wishes to find his long lost love, Mara. He explains that during the war he and his platoon met Mara while stationed in France. They all fell in love with her and proposed to her, but Mara could not make up her mind. She then decided that she would only marry the man who would outlive the others. He finishes his tale explaining that he is the last survivor of his troop and that he has lost Mara. He tells the medium that he wishes to summon the spirits of his dead friends to see if they know what happened to Mara. The medium agrees and draws a circle of protection around everyone.

When the spirits of Andreas friends appear he asks what became of Mara. The spirits tell him that Mara is dead as well and so Andreas wants to see her spirit. The medium calls her fourth and a she too is a skeletal spirit like the others. When she calls out to Andreas to come out and kiss her, he steps out of the circle despite everyone's warning that it will cost him his life. However, Venus and the others are shocked when Andreas pulls off his face -- actually a mask -- revealing a skeleton underneath. They soon realize that Andreas was dead the entire time as well.

Venus is aboard a cruise ship and taking a walk at night when suddenly a creature comes aboard and attempts to attack her. The creature attempts to kill her but her screams draw the attention of Whitney Hammond who comes to her rescue. Whit pulls Venus away and they demand to know what the creature wants. The creature tells them that he does not want anyone to know he is aboard the ship, and since he is going to kill them both he decides to tell them his tale:

He explains that he and his brothers were aboard the ship after just recently inheriting a family fortune. Wanting the entire fortune for himself, James murdered his two brothers with a knife. However, their dying screams roused other guests who then called for security. Fleeing James was shot and presumed killed by security as he dived overboard to evade capture.

Finishing the story, the creature called James tells how he intends to return home and claim his fortune. Before he can kill Venus and Whit, James sees his reflection and realizes that he has been turned into some strange creature. This allows the couple to flee, as they do Venus screams to attract attention. As they run around to the other side of the ship, Venus trips over a body laid out on the deck and the demon once known as James catches up to her. However, this time as he tries to grab her he starts to become immaterial. James reels in horror when he realizes that he has become a ghost. When he gets a closer look at the body that Venus tripped over, he is shocked to find that it is his own and that he is actually dead. James soon begins to discorporate and soon boat security arrives and they are shocked to find the body, having been convinced it went overboard. As the disappearing James tries to deny what has happened to him, Venus points out that his greed has only won him an inheritance of eternal suffering.

Working late one evening, Venus is delivered a strange package by a delivery man. When the box begins to shake, they both try to open it but are shocked when they are jolted back. The package then begins to speak and tells them that it can great them knowledge and power beyond the ken of mortal men if only they open the package. The pair find that the box's evil influence is tempting them to open the box. The box continues to tempt them offering them the ability to fly, walk through walls, shape-shift and control minds. Venus is still able to resist by the delivery man gives in and rips open the box despite Venus' warnings not to.

Upon ripping open the package and opening the box inside, the delivery man unleashes a creature from inside and it merges with the delivery man, seemingly killing him in the process. However, the delivery man, now possessed by the creature from inside the box rises and realizes that he has been endowed with all the powers the box told him he would. Having been changed into a vampire, the delivery man then attempts to hypnotize Venus and drink her blood but she manages to flee him. Changing into a wolf, the delivery man follows after her. Venus flees into a nearby subway station, she pulls a broken piece of wood out of the trash to protect herself. As she flees down the tunnel she catches her reflection in a mirror and realizes that the delivery man does not have one. She then correctly deduces that he has been turned into a vampire and rams the wood into his heart like a stake, killing the delivery man in the middle of his transformation into a bat.

Notes

This is the final issue of Venus, and also the last golden age appearance of the character. Venus did not appear (using her name Aphrodite) until Thor Annual #8, published in 1979.